The Greatest Decoy
”|"Saikyō no Otori"}} is the forty-fourth chapter of the Haikyū!! series, written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate. It was published in the 6th-7th double issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump’s 2013 series. Overview Asahi begins getting restless as he yearns to score against Date Tech, the team which had destroyed his resolve to play volleyball for months. Karasuno is leading with Hinata's sucessful quick strikes, but Aone begins catching up to his tactics. As Hinata starts getting blocked, Kageyama takes advantage of the opponents' concentration on the decoy to plan attacks with the wing spikers on the team. When the blockers rush to Hinata, Kageyama tosses to Asahi, who finally scores against Date Tech. Plot Asahi notes that it's been three months since he was overcome by a strong wall. He thinks of what Hinata said about the view on the other side of the net, but in front of Asahi is the Iron Wall that's blocking his sight. He faces it and wonders what's behind it. Karasuno is leading by three points as Makoto, Takinoue, and the girls' volleyball team arrive to watch. Hinata's unstoppable as most of Date Tech's blockers begin gathering where the middle blocker goes. The opponents are overwhelmed and Moniwa steps in. He gives the players a quick pep talk and motivates them to stop Karasuno. Kageyama tosses to Hinata again, but it's completely blocked by Aone this time. On the side, Makoto and Takinoue remark that Aone's block would encourage other members to block just as effectively. If Karasuno doesn't stop that now, it would cost the team the match. Karasuno tries another play, but Hinata gets blocked again. Nishinoya manages to receive the ball at the last moment and send it to Kageyama. Daichi, Hinata, and Tanaka rush forward to spike. Date Tech automatically assumes Hinata would attack and runs to him, leaving the court open for a back-pipe attack. Asahi emerges from behind Hinata and jumps, taking in the view of the court on the other side. He spikes and finally scores. On the sidelines, Sugawara watches this success and cheers as he remembers last year's game. Asahi thanks Kageyama, Hinata, and Nishinoya. Hinata comments that even though he wasn't the one who scored, it was still exciting, showing his acceptance of his role as a decoy. Kageyama smiles and asserts that the strongest decoy is just as cool as any ace. At this point, Karasuno has shown all of its secret weapons. The rest of the match would be based on a battle of strengths. Appearances *Asahi Azumane *Shōyō Hinata *Ryūnosuke Tanaka *Kaname Moniwa *Kōshi Sugawara *Chikara Ennoshita *Kazuhito Narita *Makoto Shimada *Yūsuke Takinoue *Yui Michimiya *Tobio Kageyama *Takanobu Aone *Takehito Sasaya *Kenji Futakuchi *Daichi Sawamura *Yutaka Obara *Kōsuke Sakunami *Takurō Oiwake *Yasushi Kamasaki *Ittetsu Takeda *Keishin Ukai *Hisashi Kinoshita *Yū Nishinoya *Kiyoko Shimizu *Tadashi Yamaguchi *Kei Tsukishima Chapter notes Character revelations *Aone's good at blocks because of a combination of his impressive physique and strong composure. Trivia * Pipe Attack - A back attack hit from behind the quick strike of a decoy in the front line. * In the official English manga release this chapter is called "The Greatest Decoy."https://www.viz.com/read/manga/product/haikyu-volume-5/12347 Reference Navigation Category:Manga Category:Volume 5 Category:Chapters Category:Interhigh Arc Category:Karasuno vs. Date Tech